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Rainbow Road

This project is designed to be a continuous, self-sufficient marble track, powered by a 9V battery, and operated by a simple motor and pulley system. It is decorated to somewhat resemble the infamous "Rainbow Road" track from the Mario Kart games.

As an incentive to read this in full, here is a lead in to a physics related joke. The punch line will be in the last step.

My physics professor told me I had potential...

Step 1: Making the Base

Get a large, square of thin, plywood-esque wood to use as the backboard for the track and pulley system. The size of this board should be determined by the desired size of the finished model.

Step 2: Making the Base Cont.

Regardless of the size of the board, measure and cut it into measurements of 1/3 and 2/3, respectively. Then, attach the smaller piece to the larger piece at a 90 degree angle, as shown. Secure with screws or nails.

Step 3: Support

Attach two square 2x4 pieces of wood to the bottom of the larger backboard (these should NOT be visible, as they are underneath the smaller baseboard). This step can be done before or after attaching the back and baseboards, according to preference.

Step 4: Support (optional)

For further support, a 2x4 can be attached to the backboard. This step is optional, however we recommend doing so just to be on the safe side.

Step 5: Materials

Step 6: Attaching the Motor

Screw or nail a strip of 2x4 wood into BOTH the back and baseboard. Then, drill a hole in the backboard congruent with the size of the motor, and insert the motor as shown above. Secure the motor carefully with naiils or screws.

Step 7: Fashioning the Pulley Pt. 1

Measure the length of the belt. Using this measurement, accordingly attach another 2x4 strip on the BACK of the backboard. When securing, ensure there is room in the middle of the board for a nail to go all the way through both boards for attaching the top pulley in the next step

Step 8: Fashioning the Pulley Pt. 2

Attach a nail in both the top and bottom 2x4 boards. Make sure these nails are only about halfway pounded in; this will allow the subsequently attached pulleys to properly balance, as well as spin.

Step 9: Constructing the Track

Using long, thin pieces of wood (we used paint sticks from Ace Hardware because they were free and we're poor), cut and form a track to your liking, or utilize the model shown above. Secure the track to the backboard using hot glue. Once secured, we recommend using hot glue to make a barrier on the edge of each piece of wood, otherwise your balls might roll off the track ;)

Step 10: Functioning Belt

Using hot glue, attach a small, circular magnet to the OUTSIDE of the belt. This magnet will be used to pick up your balls when the belt is under operation. Yes, we are aware that 2 ball jokes were made in a row, deal with it. They come in pairs ;)

Step 11: Decorating

Congratulations! If you've made it this far, you have a fully functional, automotive marble track. If you wish to be boring, you can be done now, goodbye. If you wish to be interesting and creative, continue with the decorating phase. As shown above, we have provided numerous examples of Mario Kart themed decorations that can be created to spiff up looks of your project.

Step 12: Finished Product

Shown above is a finished product of the marble track. Duck tape was used to decorate the border, as well as the barriers, amd glitter was used on the track itself. We recommend duck tape for an easy, yet effortless stylistically qppealing decorating choice to ensure an accurate representation of "Rainbow Road".Thank you for choosing Blake and Brown co. for your marble track making purposes. We hope your product turns out as exceptional as ours.

As promised, here is the punch line to the joke from the introduction.